Friday, December 11, 2015

Five on Friday - Christmas Past

I thought I'd share a few photos of my family's past Christmases from some old slides of my parents.

1. This is my mother's mother two days after Christmas 1957 ... my parents wedding day! I thought it fit in this 'five' since there is the Christmas tree to the right.

This is my mother that same day ... yes her wedding dress was a beautiful deep teal colour. And here she is beside the same Christmas tree, although the tree (and the whole room!) appears to have flipped over. These were taken in my grandmother's house on Princess St. in Dundas.

2. These were taken in our old house in Dundas on Central Park Ave. My mother with my two older sisters and Grandma. I like that we can see the brand new decorations on the tree ... all gone now of course. My sister still has the couch and chair. Two things I loved about this house were the hardwood floors, and all the interior doors were solid wood with glass door knobs.

The first house I lived in ... Dundas

3. Again at the house in Dundas, and now I too am in the pictures. Notice my mother's hair has turned grey already (was it me?!). I remember that doll of my sisters, but not it's name.

That's me dead centre

4. Another Christmas, and now we are all here ... three girls and my younger brother who looks about two here, so this is probably 1966. Even Skipper our little daschund has joined the family.

I'm on Mom's lap

We were quite proud of that "Yule Log" man. A friend of the family made him. In this next photo is a piece of driftwood that looks like a deer's head. He sat for years over the fireplace in Dundas, and then in the front hall at our country home in Burlington. Now he is above my own front door. I also have the painting that is behind us. Why we are all standing on the mantle shelf I don't know. My dad told us to do something and we just did it. We're all wrapped up with cloths around our necks and cotton in our ears because we had the mumps that Christmas ... ugh. My dad built this extra living room on the back of our house himself. A few years ago I noticed a real estate ad for this house, and this back room was exactly the same! I'm glad it wasn't altered because it was quite a warm and cozy room.

5. Here we are again, although I think we may be back in 1965 now. I remember getting that little doll's crib and still have it! (That's me with the very happy grin.) A very useful piece which I kept my few stuffed animals in for many years (I wasn't much on dolls, although I did have one Barbie). My brother's bear was a gift from my British paternal grandparents. My sisters both got tiger pajama bags from my grandparents, and I got a poodle pajama bags. These stuffed toys had a zippered pocket in their tummies that you would tuck your pajamas into during the day. I loved my poodle, and still have him too.

I can just see a bit of white that was my poodle in this photo.
We also got these horrible feeling pajamas in "brushed nylon"
that snagged on rough hands and broken fingernails!

6. Bonus! This is me on Christmas Day about 1975. We had moved to north Burlington (Lowville) three years previous. That year I received a new pair of skates, the woolen hat, a vibrant blue and red scarf and my favourite coat was purchased that winter (although not for Christmas). I really loved skating, although I wasn't very good at it. My brother and I would spend many hours down in our field where there were little flooded areas that we would skate on. We also skated up and down our little creek beside the field. The only thing I didn't like about skating along there was that we would often get tripped up on little sticks frozen in the ice. Happy memories :)

34 comments:

What wonderful memories! The pictures of your Mother and Grandmother on your parents wedding day are beautiful aren't they, real treasures. They are both so glamorous and beautiful too! I loved seeing the photos of you as a child too, you obviously had some really great times and a lot of fun doing different things as children, it must have been a great childhood! Thank you for sharing your memories with us and for joining Five On Friday. I hope that you have a great weekend - and will make lots more Christmas memories this year! xx

What a fun post! I love looking at old pictures. It's fascinating to see how much has changed. And interesting as well to see the things that haven't changed, like that room your dad added onto your old house.

Wendy,You know I enjoy these posts that are filled with tender memories. Your Mother was a beauty and I know how full your heart is with love for her still.You know I was an ice skater too! I remember receiving ice skates for Christmas one year and my Mom and would walk to the nearby ponds and I would skate and skate. In my mind I was doing wonderful tricks on those skates, but now I know-I wasn't! Good memories nevertheless. Thank you for sharing your childhood with us, this Christmas season.

I enjoyed your Christmas Past post today. Loved those old photos ... I find it interesting how similar photos of our past are with other families. The poses, the clothes, the tree, the toys ... Thanks, Wendy!

Great photos! I agree with Brenda; it's funny how our family photos all look alike, the hairstyles and clothes and decor. You can certainly tell they're from that era! Special memories.Hope you're enjoying December, Wendy.

Hi Wendy...i surfed in through somebody's blog... lOL and wanted to let you know i really enjoyed this post....i just love nostalgic old pictures. I also love your duck and bird photos! Very nice blog! Stop by mine sometime if you like... I blog from charleston SC. Anyway.. I Enjoy those old photos... I think our moms and grandmas were so glamorous!!!

How fun it is looking back on these childhood photos which bring back so many memories! Thanks for stopping by Wendy, and hope that you enjoy the half of your family that is able to come to your get together. It is not easy to get everyone together in this busy world we live in! Have a wonderful Christmas season!

i always wonder what happened to the tinsel like that? i have not seen it in years? i remember it was a headache to clean up but so pretty on the tree. i love her flowers, very pretty lady. i enjoy the dress styles then. we don't have those lines & style this day & age. such sophisticated & elegant. love gloves, i wore those for my wedding. you just don't need gloves like you did back then, why have traditions changed so? ( :

Love this trip down memory lane so much Wendy!! Such fun looking back at styles, clothes, hair etc. But the Christmas spirit and love shines through in each one. I love some similarities we share too. My hubby and I were married shortly after Christmas (the 29th) and my Mom wore a tealish (lighter blue) wedding dress too! ;)Thanks for sharing such precious family photos. xoox

Thank you so much for sharing your photos! They made me feel happy and warm inside. You look so happy with that doll's crib. From that last photo it's not hard to imagine you and your brother skating the day away. Lovely photos :)